Scabies?

[Poirot1983]

Intensely itchy now for 6 months. Every area of my body except for my hands, neck and face. It is worse in the evenings and at night. I had chronic eczema in childhood and have the odd flare up but have never had eczema in the places that are now so insanely itchy.

I have tried everything including steroid cream to calm it down (as I really was assuming this was eczema given my history of it) but nothing stops this itch.

Have just seen a diagram of the places affected by scabies and they mostly seem to match with the areas I am experiencing the itch.

However, I only have small white bumps on my feet (I thought this was a form of eczema). The other areas just go red from the itching, no little bumps.

I just wondered how others knew they had scabies? Where did you itch and what were your symptoms?

I do plan to see my GP eventually if it doesn't clear but in my experience they are useless with eczema (I am 55, had years of managing it better than my GP).

It's like a proper red rash and starts out on the back of the hands to wrists

Hmmm... I don't have it on my hands or wrists at all.

Could be menopause/hormone related. Have you tried taking an antihistamine?

If it’s scabies it’s easy to treat and the pharmacist could sell you treatment. Better to treat it as soon as possible. Maybe worth a try anyway.

Yes, so many times and have taken 2 at night at times.

I wondered if it could be menopause. It's just so odd that it is all over my body except my hands and face which have historically been the places I have suffered most with eczema. It is literally everywhere else and driving me insane.

That is what I am thinking now.

Yeah I suppose there's nothing to lose just getting scabies cream and trying it. If not I would think it's some kind of auto immune condition. Benadryl is the best anti histamine btw, I find the other OTC don't really work

Scabies spreads easily. Has anyone else on the household been itchy?

No, this did make me wonder if it could be scabies but I read some people don't have symptoms. I live with partner and young adult son and neither have been itchy and I had had it for months, now.

You are right that some people don’t have symptoms. Symptoms develop once someone becomes allergic to the mites which can take weeks or not happen at all. But everyone in the houseshould be treated on the same day and all the bedsheets washed on a hot wash plus a lot of hoovering.

Thank you!

Could it be peri or menopause related?

If you don't think it's your eczema, or a skin reaction to something, then you should definitely go to the GP and get checked out.

I'd show it to a Pharmacist, they are generally knowledgeable on rashes.